NBAF hearing in Athens the last

Posted: Sunday, August 10, 2008

Federal officials are barnstorming the country staging daylong hearings on a proposed federal disease research lab, and locals are reacting with everything from dignitary-laden pep rallies to rowdy protests.

Athens residents soon will get their last chance to weigh in.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security returns to town Thursday for its third and final presentation on the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, a 500,000-square-foot, $500 million laboratory where researchers will study incurable infectious animal diseases like foot-and-mouth.

Federal officials already have stopped at the other five finalists for the NBAF - San Antonio, Manhattan, Kan.; Butner, N.C.; Flora, Miss., and two towns near Plum Island, N.Y. - as well as Washington, D.C.

In North Carolina, about 200 protesters turned out at a July 29 hearing, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. Among them was Athens activist Grady Thrasher. One resident dressed up as the Grim Reaper and another threatened to dismantle bulldozers if the NBAF comes to Butner, Thrasher said, but he doesn't expect similar theatrics in Athens.

"We view ourselves as maybe a little too sophisticated," he said.

David Lee, vice president for research at the University of Georgia, said he knows opponents will outnumber supporters Thursday, but he is hoping for legitimate questions rather than grandstanding.

"I'm afraid what it's going to turn out to be is kind of a circus of folks feeling like they have to make a statement on whether NBAF should be here or not, which is not really the purpose of the meeting," said Lee, who's leading the state's effort to land NBAF for a site on South Milledge Avenue.

Other than North Carolina, Athens is the only finalist with a large organized opposition, although Kansas is developing one, said Judy Winters, a member of the Granville Non-violent Action Team, a North Carolina group fighting the NBAF.

Press coverage of hearings in other states largely has been positive.

Researchers, veterinarians and government officials spoke overwhelmingly in favor of bringing the NBAF to Texas at a hearing last Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

A hearing in Mississippi last Tuesday drew Gov. Haley Barbour and 350 other people, almost all in favor of the lab, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

A handful of Kansans, including farmers and engineers, criticized the lab at a July 31 hearing in Kansas, but Kansas State University academics and state officials, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, told Homeland Security that Manhattan is the best choice, the Topeka Capitol-Journal reported.

In New York, though, officials like U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Tim Bishop have said they don't want a high-security lab like the NBAF on Plum Island, home of the moderate-security Plum Island Animal Disease Center that NBAF will replace.

And in North Carolina, opposition continues to mount. Many local officials have withdrawn their support - including, most recently, the Raleigh City Council and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C. They cited the project's unpopularity and Homeland Security's unwillingness to answer questions.

"I cannot support bringing a federal facility to a community in my district that does not welcome it," Miller said in a news release Tuesday. "I continue to believe that we must do the research that would be conducted at the proposed facility to protect public health and our food supply, whether at the current location at Plum Island or elsewhere, and that wherever the research is done it must be done safely."

Georgia and Athens officials, including U.S. Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, the rest of Georgia's congressional delegation, Gov. Sonny Perdue, Mayor Heidi Davison and county commissioners, still are on board with efforts to bring the NBAF to the 67-acre UGA-owned tract off South Milledge Avenue.

Davison said Homeland Security has answered her questions and she is satisfied so far that the lab will be safe. Opponents aren't keeping an open mind, she said.

"I don't have the sense that (Homeland Security has) been withholding information," she said. "They're simply not going to like the answers."

Thrasher and Kathy Prescott, founders of the local anti-NBAF group For Athens Quality-of-life, said nothing can sway them that building the NBAF anywhere but on an island is a good idea.

"At this point, there's nothing that will change my mind about this lab," Prescott said.

At the two Athens hearings, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education, federal officials will present findings from a draft environmental impact statement released in June, then take questions and comments.

"I think it will be very similar to the (previous) meetings," UGA spokeswoman Terry Hastings said.

The 1,000-page report includes information on infrastructure needs, potential environmental damage, economic benefits and safety precautions for each of the six finalists.

If it's built in Athens, the lab would bring in 326 jobs with a $20 million payroll and create 226 jobs for locals, according to the study. On the downside, construction might temporarily pollute the Middle Oconee River, the massive facility will be visible from surrounding areas, water and sewer lines to the site need to be expanded and nearby roads will need to be improved.

The study says pathogens - among them the highly contagious livestock disease foot-and-mouth and a few viruses that animals can transmit to humans - are extremely unlikely to escape from the lab. If they did, the economic hit to the region could top $4 billion, but proponents say the research conducted will be invaluable if a natural outbreak occurred.

Opponents, though, say they're afraid a rogue scientist like Bruce Ivins, a Maryland researcher who killed himself last week as federal authorities prepared to charge him with unleashing anthrax attacks in 2001, could smuggle pathogens out of the NBAF and spread them around Athens.

They also want to ask about Homeland Security's plan to exterminate the local deer population or spray for mosquitoes if an outbreak occurs.

Others are likely to question the job and payroll figures, the lab's water and sewer needs and whether Homeland Security plans to incinerate carcasses or sanitize and dissolve them in an acid bath.

SPEAK UP ON NBAF

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security returns to Athens on Thursday for its third and final presentation on the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, a 500,000-square-foot, $500 million laboratory where researchers will study incurable infectious animal diseases like foot-and-mouth.

The hearings will focus on a 1,000-page environmental impact study released in June. Residents will have two opportunities to gather information, ask questions and make comments about the project. Homeland Security is also accepting written comments through Aug. 25.

National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility hearings

12:30-4:30 p.m. and 6-10 p.m. Thursday

Georgia Center for Continuing Education, 1197 S. Lumpkin St.

Parking deck next door

On the Web: www.dhs.gov

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security returns to Athens on Thursday for its third and final presentation on the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, a 500,000-square-foot, $500 million laboratory where researchers will study incurable infectious animal diseases like foot-and-mouth.

The hearings will focus on a 1,000-page environmental impact study released in June. Residents will have two opportunities to gather information, ask questions and make comments about the project. Homeland Security is also accepting written comments through Aug. 25.